Off-axis inverted dispensers and refill units

ABSTRACT

Exemplary embodiments of inverted dispenser systems and refill units are disclosed herein. An exemplary dispenser includes a dispenser housing and an actuating lever. A rack is engaged by the actuating lever. An actuator carriage is included that is movable back and forth in a linear motion. The rack is linked to the actuating carriage and the rack is movable back and forth in a linear motion. Movement of the rack toward the back of the dispenser causes the actuator carriage to move toward the front of the dispenser.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional utility patent application claims priority to and the benefits of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/692,290 filed on Aug. 23, 2012 and entitled Horizontal Pumps, Refill Units and Foam Dispensers with Integral Air Compressors; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/695,140 filed on Aug. 30, 2012 and entitled Horizontal Pumps, Refill Units and Foam Dispensers; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/736,594 filed on Dec. 13, 2012 and entitled Collapsible Container; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/720,490 filed on Oct. 31, 2012 and entitled Foam Pumps with Lost Motion and Adjustable Output Foam Pumps; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/719,618 filed on Oct. 29, 2012 and entitled Horizontal Pumps, Refill Units and Foam Dispensers; U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 13/747,909 filed on Jan. 23, 2013 and entitled Pumps with Container Vents. All of these applications incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to dispensers and refill units for dispensers and more particular to off-axis foam dispensers and refill units for off-axis foam dispensers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Inverted foam dispensers are generally configured to provide a user with an amount of soap or sanitizer in the form of foam upon actuation of the dispenser. Inverted foam dispensers generally convert liquid material, such as liquid soap or sanitizer, into foam by aerating the liquid material as it is dispensed. Air is generally injected into the liquid material to form air bubbles in the liquid, causing the formation of foam. Inverted foam dispensers may include a replaceable refill container that is replaced after the liquid material therein is consumed by the user. Prior art inverted foam dispensers typically have a liquid inlet and a foam outlet that lie along a common axis.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of inverted dispenser systems and refill units are disclosed herein. An exemplary dispenser includes a dispenser housing and an actuating lever. A rack is engaged by the actuating lever. An actuator carriage is included that is movable back and forth in a linear motion. The rack is linked to the actuating carriage and the rack is movable back and forth in a linear motion. Movement of the rack toward the back of the dispenser causes the actuator carriage to move toward the front of the dispenser.

Another exemplary dispenser system includes a refill unit having a container and a pump. A dispenser housing configured to receive a portion of the refill unit is also included. The housing has a housing cross-sectional shape. The container has a container cross-sectional shape. The housing cross-sectional shape has substantially the same shape as the container cross-sectional shape.

An exemplary refill unit includes a container and a pump secured to the container. The container has a lower portion that extends vertically and an upper portion that extends vertically. The transition between the upper portion and the lower portion creates a lip. When the refill unit is installed in a dispenser, the lip rests on at least a portion of the dispenser housing and the lower portion of the container fits within the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of an exemplary dispenser system having a dispenser with a refill unit installed;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the exemplary dispenser system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the exemplary dispenser system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the exemplary dispenser FIG. 1 without a refill unit and with the door in an open position; and

FIG. 5 is an embodiment of an exemplary refill unit for the dispenser system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a manual foam dispenser system 100. Dispenser system 100 includes a refill unit 110 and a dispenser 102. Refill unit 110 includes a container 112 and a foam pump 210 (FIG. 2). Dispenser 102 includes housing 104, a door 115 and an actuator level 117. Door 115 includes a hinge member 119. As discussed with respect to FIG. 3, door 115 pivots open around hinge member 119.

Dispenser housing 104 has a six-sided shape and has two parallel sides 124 and two chamfered corners 120. Similarly, container 122 has a six-sided shape and has two parallel sides 126 and two chamfered corners 122. Accordingly, dispenser housing 104 and container 112 have the same cross-sectional shape. In addition, as can be better seen with respect to FIG. 2, the outside dimensions of the container 112 are the same as the outside of the dispenser housing 104. Accordingly, dispenser housing 104 and container 112 have the same cross-sectional area in at least one cross-section. Further, the cross-sectional shape of the container that is the same as the cross-sectional shape of the housing extends along substantially all of the length of the exposed container 112. In addition, the back of container 112 extends back substantially the same distance as the back of the dispenser housing 104 extends.

FIG. 2 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of the exemplary dispenser system 100. As described above, dispenser system 100 includes refill unit 110 and dispenser 102. Refill unit 110 includes container 112 and foam pump 210. In this exemplary embodiment, the container 112 includes a foamable liquid, such as, for example, a soap, a sanitizer, a lotion or the like. Container 112 includes a portion 240 that fits within the interior of dispenser housing 104 and a lip 242 that rests on top of dispenser housing 104. This relationship adds stability to the dispenser system 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a foam pump 210 is secured to the neck 201 of container 112. An exemplary foam pump 210 is shown and described with respect to FIGS. 2 and 2A of Applicant's co-pending U.S. Non-Provisional Application Ser. No. 13/787,47, title Off-Axis Inverted Foam Dispensers and Refill Units, which was filed on Mar. 6, 2013 and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In addition, container 112 is a non-collapsible container and therefore needs to be vented to prevent vacuum pressure from preventing the pump 210 from operating properly. The exemplary foam pump 210 includes a container vent valve (not shown) which is fully described in Applicants co-pending application identified above and provides for venting of the container.

Other offset foam pumps having both an air chamber and a liquid chamber that may be used in the exemplary dispensing system 100 include the foam pumps shown and described in Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/695,140 filed on Aug. 30, 2012 and entitled Horizontal Pumps, Refill Units and Foam Dispensers and in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/719,618 filed on Oct. 29, 2012 and entitled Horizontal Pumps, Refill Units and Foam Dispensers. These applications are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.

In addition, in some embodiments, an air compressor is permanently affixed to dispenser housing 102. In such an embodiment, liquid pumps having an inlet for receiving air from the air compressor affixed to the dispenser housing 102 are used in the dispenser systems disclosed herein. Exemplary pumps, refill units and air compressors that may be used are shown and described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/692,290 filed on Aug. 23, 2012 and entitled Horizontal Pumps, Refill Units and Foam Dispensers with Integral Air Compressors, which are also incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.

In this exemplary embodiment, dispenser housing 104 includes a lost motion connector 272. Lost motion connector 272 is connected to actuator carriage 270 and both are secured to dispenser housing 104 and remain with dispenser housing 104 when the refill unit 110 is removed. Actuator carriage 270 moves in a linear back and forth motion along a pair of guide plates 240. The components described herein with respect to moving actuator carriage 270 have identical counter-parts (not shown) on the opposite side of the dispenser housing 104. Guide plates 240 include slots 242 that limit the travel of actuator carriage 270. Dispenser housing 104 includes gears 230 that are supported by guide plates 240 and gear plates 246. Guide plates 240 include openings (not shown) that receive shafts 232 of gears 230. The other side of shafts 232 is supported in u-shaped openings in gear plates 246. Gears 230 include first projecting members 234 that include annular projections (not shown) that engage the inside of rings 274 of actuator carriage 270. In addition, gears 230 have projection members 236, which are partially visible. Projection members 236 fit within slots 228 (FIGS. 3 and 4) in racks 226. Racks 226 are biased toward the front of the dispenser by biasing members 229, such as, for example, springs. Racks 226 include receptacles 227. Receptacles 227 receive tabs 224 of actuating lever 117. Actuator lever 117 includes pins 222 that fit within hinges 220 on door 115.

Lost motion connector 272 links actuator carriage 270 to connector 254 of foam pump 210. Lost motion connector 272 may be adjustable in the field or at the factory. In addition, lost motion connector 272 may have settings that range from no lost motion all the way up to a maximum lost motion. At “no lost motion” the pump dispenses a full or maximum dose. If the lost motion connector 272 is set at its maximum lost motion setting, the pump dispenses the smallest dose allowable. Additional applicable lost motion connectors are more fully described in co-pending U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 13/791332 filed on Mar. 8, 2013 and entitled Foam Pumps with Lost Motion and Adjustable Output Foam Pumps and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/720,490 filed on Oct. 31, 2012 and also entitled Foam Pumps with Lost Motion and Adjustable Output Foam Pumps, which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. In some embodiments, the lost motion connector 272 is not needed and actuator 270 directly connects to connector 254.

During operation, movement of actuator lever 117 in direction D causes actuator lever 117 to rotate about pins 222 and tabs 224 engage receptacles 227 of racks 226 which moves linearly toward the back of the dispenser 102. Movement of racks 226 toward the back of dispenser 102 causes gears 230 to rotate about their respective shafts 232 in a clockwise direction because projection 236 is linked to rack 226 by slots 228. Rotation of gears 230 in a clockwise direction causes actuator carriage 270 to move toward the front of the dispenser because projection 234 is linked to actuator carriage 260. As actuator carriage 270 moves forward, foam is dispensed.

When actuator lever 117 is released, biasing member 229 urges rack 226 back to its rest position, which moves actuator lever 117 to its outermost position. Gears 230 rotate counter clockwise because projections 236 are linked to racks 226 by projection members 236 and slots 228. Rotation of gears 230 in the counter-clockwise direction move actuator carriage 270 to its rearward most position. As the actuator carriage 270 moves toward its rearward most position, it engages connector 254 of foam pump 210 and moves the air piston 312 (FIG. 3) and liquid piston (not shown) outward. As described in Applicants' co-pending patent application incorporated above, the lost motion setting on the lost motion connector determines when the actuator carriage 270 begins to move the air piston 312 and the liquid piston (not shown) to prime the foam pump 210.

Dispenser 102 includes door 115 that is connected to housing 104 by hinge member 119. As illustrated in FIG. 3, door 115 swings outward. When door 115 is opened up, refill unit 110 may be lifted upward and removed. Lifting refill unit 110 upward causes connector 254 to separate from lost motion connector 272 because lost motion connector 272 is U-shaped with the upper portion open. Dispenser 102 in its open position without refill unit 110 installed is illustrated in FIG. 4 and refill unit 110 is illustrated in FIG. 5.

In some embodiments, door 115 includes a door locking or securing mechanism (not shown). The door 115 may require a key to open, or optionally may have a hidden release (not shown) so that it is not obvious for a passerby to open door 115. In sum, any standard locking or latching mechanism may be used to secure door 115 in a closed position.

In addition, dispenser door 115 includes a pump locking mechanism 290. Pump locking mechanism 290 includes an opening 292 that is sized to fit over the rear portion 310 of foam pump 210 when the door 115 is closed. The pump locking mechanism 290 prevents the refill unit 110 and foam pump 210 from being removed from the dispenser 102 unless the dispenser door 115 is open. In addition, pump locking mechanism 290 prevents dispenser door 115 from closing if a user attempts to install an unauthorized refill unit in the dispenser 102.

In addition, pump locking mechanism 290 includes one or more slots 294. The slots 294 are configured to fit over ribs 312 located on foam pump 312. The slots 294 and ribs 312 are a keying system. The slots 294 and ribs 312 may be on either the foam pump 210 or pump locking mechanism 290. In addition, the pump 210 and the pump locking mechanism 290 may include both slots and ribs. Further, other shapes and/or configurations of slots or cutouts are contemplated herein. In some embodiments, opening 292 and pump housing 310 have a unique configuration and may act as a keying system to prevent unauthorized pumps and refill units from being used in dispenser 102.

While various inventive aspects, concepts and features of the inventions may be described and illustrated herein as embodied in combination in the exemplary embodiments, these various aspects, concepts and features may be used in many alternative embodiments, either individually or in various combinations and sub-combinations thereof. It is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Unless expressly excluded herein, all such combinations and sub-combinations are intended to be within the scope of the present inventions. Still further, while various alternative embodiments as to the various aspects, concepts and features of the inventions—such as alternative materials, structures, configurations, methods, circuits, devices and components, software, hardware, control logic, alternatives as to form, fit and function, and so on—may be described herein, such descriptions are not intended to be a complete or exhaustive list of available alternative embodiments, whether presently known or later developed. Those skilled in the art may readily adopt one or more of the inventive aspects, concepts or features into additional embodiments and uses within the scope of the present inventions even if such embodiments are not expressly disclosed herein. Additionally, even though some features, concepts or aspects of the inventions may be described herein as being a preferred arrangement or method, such description is not intended to suggest that such feature is required or necessary unless expressly so stated. Still further, exemplary or representative values and ranges may be included to assist in understanding the present disclosure; however, such values and ranges are not to be construed in a limiting sense and are intended to be critical values or ranges only if so expressly stated. Moreover, while various aspects, features and concepts may be expressly identified herein as being inventive or forming part of an invention, such identification is not intended to be exclusive, but rather there may be inventive aspects, concepts and features that are fully described herein without being expressly identified as such or as part of a specific invention. Descriptions of exemplary methods or processes are not limited to inclusion of all steps as being required in all cases, nor is the order in which the steps are presented to be construed as required or necessary unless expressly so stated. 

We claim:
 1. A dispenser comprising: a dispenser housing; an actuating lever; a rack engaged by the actuating lever; an actuator carriage movable back and forth in a linear motion; the rack linked to the actuating carriage; the rack movable back and forth in a linear motion; and wherein movement of the rack toward the back of the dispenser causes the actuator carriage to move toward the front of the dispenser.
 2. The dispenser of claim 1 further comprising one or more gears linking the rack to the actuator carriage.
 3. The dispenser of claim 1 further comprising a lost motion connector secured to the actuator carriage.
 4. The dispenser of claim 1 wherein the actuating lever is configured to pivot about a hinge pin.
 5. The dispenser of claim 1 further comprising a refill unit.
 6. The dispenser of claim 5 wherein the refill unit contains a foam pump.
 7. The dispenser of claim 1 further comprising a pump locking mechanism secured to a door of the dispenser.
 8. The dispenser of claim 5 wherein the housing stops short of the top of the refill unit leaving at least a portion of the refill unit exposed.
 9. A dispenser system comprising: a refill unit having a container and a pump; a dispenser housing configured to receive a portion of the refill unit; the housing having a housing cross-sectional shape; the container having a container cross-sectional shape; wherein the housing cross-sectional shape has substantially the same shape as the container cross-sectional shape.
 10. The dispenser system of claim 9 wherein the housing cross-sectional shape has substantially the same area as the container cross-sectional shape.
 11. The dispenser system of claim 9 wherein the container has a second container cross-sectional shape that has a smaller area than the first cross-sectional shape and wherein the second container cross-sectional shape has substantially the same shape as the housing cross-sectional shape and has an area that is less than the area of the housing cross-sectional shape.
 12. The dispenser system of claim 9 wherein the container includes a lip portion and wherein the lip portion rests on the top of the housing.
 13. The dispenser system of claim 9 further comprising an actuating lever, wherein movement of the actuator toward the back of the dispenser causes an actuating carriage to move towards the front of the dispenser and dispense fluid from the refill unit.
 14. The dispenser system of claim 9 further comprising a door and a pump locking mechanism, wherein the pump locking mechanism prevents the refill from being removed unless the door is open.
 15. The dispenser system of claim 9 further comprising a door and a pump locking, wherein the door will not close if the pump locking mechanism does not properly mate with a pump secured to the container.
 16. A refill unit comprising: a container: a pump secured to the container; the container having a lower portion that extends vertically and an upper portion that extends vertically; the transition between the upper portion and the lower portion creating a lip; wherein when the refill unit is installed in a dispenser, the lip rests on at least a portion of the dispenser housing and the lower portion of the container fits within the housing.
 17. The refill unit of claim 16 wherein the pump has a liquid pump portion and the liquid pump portion has a liquid inlet valve and a liquid outlet valve, wherein the liquid inlet valve and the liquid outlet valve is closer to the front of the dispenser than the liquid inlet valve.
 18. The refill unit of claim 16 wherein the pump housing includes a keying system.
 19. The refill unit of claim 18 wherein the keying system includes at least one of a rib and a slot.
 20. The refill unit of claim 16 the pump housing includes one or more ribs for engaging with a pump locking mechanism secured to a dispenser to prevent the refill unit form being removed from the pump dispenser system. 